10 Things Casey Hates About Derek
by boshrocks
Summary: Everyone can see what Casey and Derek can't. Emily comes up with a plan to get them together. i suck at summaries. DASEY fluff. one-shot


Casey stared at her best friend as though she was officially insane. What she had said was preposterous, yet, on some levels, made sense.

"I refuse to believe it." she told Emily, leaning back on the sofa cushions.

"Face it; you got it bad, Case."

"If you say so." Casey said nonchalantly.

"I'm not the only one who thinks so. Everybody can see it."

"Emily, I am not in love with my stepbrother." Casey was starting to get annoyed.

"Fine. Lizzie! Come down here a sec." Emily called. Lizzie duly appeared. "Isn't it totally obvious about Casey and Derek?"

"That they fight constantly but secretly harbour feelings for each other? Yeah, completely obvious and true." Casey stared at her sister as she smirked and went back upstairs.

"Okay. Let's say for a second that it's true. Hypothetically. Do I do something about it?"

"About what?" turning they saw Derek at the foot of the stairs.

"Nothing, worm. Get lost. We're having girl time." Casey ordered.

"Funny, I don't see any girls."

With a roar of exasperation Casey grabbed a cushion and threw it at him. He caught it in his infuriatingly casual way and threw it back with less force.

"Now, now. No need for that." he teased.

"Get lost!"

Sniggering he went back up the stairs.

"Now don't tell me there's nothing between you two. I saw those looks."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Is there even a name for this?" Casey turned her attention back to Emily.

"Incest is siblings, but steps? I don't know. Look it up. But it is true."

"I hate Derek. I have since I met him."

Emily got up from her seat on the sofa and started pacing a bit. "What do you hate about him? Tell you what, I'm giving you homework. I have to leave now because I have a project due tomorrow that I haven't even started yet, but I want you to list ten things you hate about Derek and show me the list tomorrow by our locker." She said as they moved towards the door.

Casey just proffered Emily's coat. Outside the door Emily had a private smirk.

Once her friend had left Casey retreated to her room and sat on the bed ponderously. What if she did love Derek? What if she didn't know it? What if she felt that way but he didn't? What if he felt that way but she didn't?

Grabbing her notepad she listed the numbers and then paused. _Where to start? _What did she hate about Derek?

_His arrogance; obviously…but he wasn't that egotistical anymore. He's changed a lot since we moved in. Compared to what he was when we first moved in he's now someone who might just pass as a human being. _

_The way he used girls; no she couldn't hold that against him, since he seemed to have calmed down since the whole Kendra episode. _

She tapped the pencil on the pad in annoyance, straining her brain to come up with something, anything. But nothing would. In frustration she threw the notepad at the wall with a snarl of anger as an outlet for her brain letting her down.

"Something wrong?" Derek stuck his head into the room.

"Nothing you'd be interested in. Just making a list."

"Always organising stuff aren't you?"

"Keeps me out of trouble." She shrugged, smiling gently.

"You? In trouble?" he inserted the rest of himself in the room and leant casually against the wall.

"Not your kind of trouble. I was never a rebel. But the kind of trouble that needs someone like you to bail me out of it."

"Which I seem to be doing constantly."

"I am a bit hopeless."

He looked for a moment that he might contradict her. Then the look went away. "Yeah, you are."

Despite herself she laughed. "I can always trust you to be honest with me."

She noted that he had become uneasy as she said that. He shifted his position uncomfortably and leant on the light switch, unintentionally, plunging the room in darkness. The only light was now coming from the hall. It lit her up but his face was in shadow.

_What was all that about? He's in major cover up mode…which means, he's hiding something._

Once he realised he had made the lights go away he righted the problem. By this time he had managed to get rid of his unease.

"Derek close the door a minute." He did so. "Come here." He sat beside her on the bed. "I want the truth here. No being Mr Cool and no dodging. Do you hate me?"

Once more he became fidgety. "No. Not anymore."

"Lizzie seems to think that despite our constant bickering we have undiscovered feelings." Casey watched his reaction carefully, and thought she could see a flicker of something pass through his eyes. But it vanished before she could determine exactly what it was.

"Undiscovered feelings?" he stuttered a little.

"They seem to think we'd make a good couple."

"But you're my sister." Derek protested.

"That's what I said."

"Wouldn't that be incest?"

"Again, that's what I said." Casey laughed a bit. _No, there was nothing to worry about._ Not that she was worrying about it, or anything, but it felt nice hearing it confirmed. A tiny part of her felt slightly pleased that they had the same reaction…and another small part pointed out the similarities between them-the fact that they were in tune with each other and on the same wavelength stirred something like hope in her mind.

_Hope? Where did that come from?_

"Derek! Casey! Help me!" they heard Edwin cry from somewhere in the house.

"Now what's happened?" Casey chuckled again as Edwin fell into the room and held the door shut firmly. "What's going on?" she asked, restraining her laughter.

"Nothing!" as the door gave a heave with a thump.

"EDWIN!"

"That's Lizzie. What did you do?" Derek glared at his brother but Casey noticed the corners of his mouth twitching; he was also keeping a leash on his mirth. _Again with the wavelength._

"I kinda, might have, punctured her football."

"Edwin!" Casey said sternly.

Next to her Derek chuckled.

"I think the only humane thing to do would be to let her have you." Casey said, trying to glare at Derek, and failing miserably.

"What? You're feeding me to the bear? I thought you liked me?" Edwin almost let go of the door.

"I do. But you did wrong, and she won't let it go unless she gets it out of her system. Trust me, never antagonise a McDonald." Casey smirked a little.

"Yeah, you're gonna want to do as she says. Trust me, all McDonald women are nuts."

Casey slapped him on the shoulder. "That's not true."

Derek and Edwin raised their left eyebrows cynically at the same time.

Casey sniggered. "Ok, so maybe we are a little bit. But you Venturi's give us good reasons to get angry."

Edwin and Derek shared a look. Together they said with an accepting shrug "Yeah… occupational hazard."

Casey dissolved in a fit of giggles. The next moment Lizzie broke into the room, pushing Edwin back towards the bed and into Derek, who, domino style, knocked into Casey who fell off the bed. In an effort to save herself she grabbed Derek who landed on top of her. Her giggles subsided to a stop.

Brown eyes met the blue. Casey smiled up at him, so shyly. Derek brushed a lock of her hair off her face, letting his fingertips tickle her cheek a little.

"If I kissed you now, would you judge me?" he whispered.

"If I let you, would you?" was her ambiguous murmur.

Oblivious to the outside world Casey and Derek failed to see Lizzie dragging Edwin out of the room by his ear, and his painful protests.

Emily arrived at their locker the next day, to find a very jumpy Casey waiting for her.

"What's wrong Case?"

"Oh! Nothing."

"Don't give me that. Did you finish the list?"

Silently she passed it over.

"There's only one thing you hate about him? 'I hate the way he can't keep his emotions in check during awkward situations.' Is that seriously all you could come up with?"

"You rushed me."

"Something is going on. Isn't it Case?"

Before she could protest Derek sauntered up behind them and paused beside them with Sam in tow. Derek engaged Casey in conversation whilst Sam flirted with Emily.

"Sorry for bailing on you last night." Derek whispered in her ear.

"I think I know why." Casey giggled quietly.

"What?"

"Come on, I felt it."

"You did?" Derek's face fell over the edge of a cliff.

"You were lying on top of me. It was hard enough pretending not to notice it." Derek blushed furiously. "Game, set and match. McDonald's point." Casey watched Emily valiantly trying to shut down Sam's advances. "I have to go to the bathroom. Em?"

"What? Oh, yeah coming."

As they headed for the nearest bathroom Derek turned to Sam. "Why do they always go to the bathroom with another girl?"

Sam shrugged. "Beats me."

In the bathroom.

"Em, you don't have to resist him. You've had a crush on him for, like, ever."

"But Case, what about the girl code?"

"Sam and I are way over. There is no chance for a reconciliation. And I'm not sad about it. Besides, I found someone else."

"Max?"

"God no. He hasn't looked twice at me since the Valentines Day dance."

"Then who?"

"I can't tell you."

"Casey, it's me. You can tell me anything."

Casey led the way out of the bathroom where they rejoined the boys. "Well, not this time Em."

"I don't see why you can't trust me. You told me about the crush you had on Sam before you went out."

"Did you have to bring that up?"

"We tell each other everything, why can't you tell me this?"

"What do you want to hear?" Casey replied as coolly as possible.

"Who do you fancy?" Emily vaguely noted the slightly hurt look Derek flashed Casey and her meaningful look in return. She also vaguely noted the dawning understanding on Derek's face.

Understanding dawned for her too. "You two? You fancy Der…?" Casey flew forwards and clamped her hand over Emily's mouth.

"Boys, please sod off for a bit. I need to talk to her away from you two." They sodded off. Gently Casey let go of her. "Yes, Em. I do."

"I knew it! I really am always right!" the boys heard Emily shout and witnessed Casey's frantic attempts to silence her as the whole hallway went quiet to listen and watch this bit of street theatre. The Casey/Derek family feud was a running joke in the school.

"When did this start?" Emily asked as everyone went back to what they were doing.

"Oh, about ten seconds after I met him." Casey said flippantly.

Emily burst into peals of laughter. "Now you're list point makes sense. I take it something happened last night?"

"A lot happened last night. But I'm not telling you here."

"Oh come on, Case. Please? You can't tempt me with that and then leave me hanging. That's just cruel."

"You want the truth? Okay. Last night, something almost happened."

"What?!"

"Last night, I kissed him." Emily's face lit up. "And it could have…developed…if something hadn't come up unexpectedly." Emily burst with giggles which she tried to suppress.

Further down the hall Sam turned to Derek. "Care to explain?"

Derek took a deep breath. "Breakthrough."

Sam nodded in understanding.


End file.
